🎯 How to Beat 1% Listers and Limited-Service Brokers — The 2026 Script

GROW WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY

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You did everything right. You ran the comps. You prepped the presentation. You drove across town in traffic. Then on the way home, your phone buzzes — the seller picked the 1% guy.

If that's happened to you, or if you're afraid it's about to, here's the playbook to make sure it doesn't happen again.

These brokerages always come back when the market balances. A flood of expired listings, sellers staring at less equity than they expected, agents in panic mode dropping their fees — and the 1% guys see opportunity.

We're projecting 40-50% of all current listings will expire into the second half of the year. That's a historic number, and so far the prediction is playing out.

That means the sellers you're meeting with are increasingly going to ask the question:

If you don't have an answer ready before they ask, you've already lost.

The word "discount" doesn't carry a negative connotation anymore. Sellers hear it and think value. The accurate term is limited service, because that's what they actually deliver.

Here's the business model in plain English. The limited service broker takes a flat fee upfront — $500, $1,200, sometimes $1,500. They handle three or four things, mainly putting the listing on the MLS. Their money is already made. They have no real incentive to sell the house.

In fact, the longer it stays on the market, the more buyer leads they generate from your for-sale sign and the portals. The listings are their lead funnel, not their product.

Pull these brokerages up in your MLS and look at the data. High expiration rates. More buyer-side closings than listing-side. That's the proof. Use it.

There are two variants of commission-cutting to be ready for.

The first is the named limited-service brokerage in your market — the "list for $500" companies that come and go but always exist somewhere. The second, more common variant, is the desperate competing agent who has no other USP.

When a weaker agent realizes they're up against someone with scripts, a presentation, and a pre-listing pack, they reach for the only lever they have left — cut their own commission and overprice the listing to win it.

You'll face both. The playbook handles both.

This goes in your pre-listing pack so the seller reads it before you ever walk in the door. The script:

The seller will always say no. Then you walk them through the five scenarios in your flexible fee structure. Full service when there's a co-op. Different rate when you generate the buyer yourself. Walked-up neighbor — minimal fee, you handle paperwork. Sold it completely on your own with no help — fee waived, paperwork ripped up.

That's the structure. Now the limited service broker has nothing left. You've offered flexibility and full service. They can only offer flexibility.

When a seller still wants to try the 1% guy first, use this:

Then math them out loud.

You're not arguing with them. You're walking them through their own math. They're closing the door themselves. That's the whole game.

Notice what we never do — tell the seller they can't try the limited service broker. The worst thing you can do is make them feel inferior or argued-with. Even if you win the back-and-forth, they won't hire you.

Lead with agreement.

That phrase — "can I tell you why that scares me for you?" — is the most powerful sales bridge we've ever taught. It positions you as their advocate, not their adversary.

This is the part most agents miss. When a seller asks for "flexibility," they don't want you to throw away three points of commission. They want to feel like you're working with them, not against them. Flexibility is a posture, not a dollar amount.

When agents tell us "I turned the listing down because they wanted me to lower my fee" — that's not strong, that's brittle. The flexible fee structure already shows you're flexible. You don't need to give up anything else to prove it.

If the seller raises the commission objection during your listing appointment, you've already lost ground. The pre-listing pack does 95% of the heavy lifting before you arrive — flexible fee structure, communications guarantee, marketing plan, every objection you'd ever face, pre-handled in writing.

By the time you sit at the kitchen table, the appointment is 15-20 minutes of paperwork and conversation, not a sales battle. That's the difference between agents who close 8 out of 10 and agents who keep getting beat by the 1% guy.

The market is about to deliver you the biggest expired listing opportunity in years. Be the one who shows up with the answer already loaded.

Ready to stop guessing and start producing?

💼 Build wealth with Tim's eXp team: whylibertas.com/harris
📲 Elite Coaching — text Tim directly: 512-758-0206

What's the dominant limited service broker in your market — and which line from this script handles the version of the objection you hear most often?

— Tim & Julie Harris
Tim & Julie Harris® Real Estate Coaching
Real Estate Coaching Radio | #1 Daily Podcast for Real Estate Agents

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GROW WITH EXP REALTY & LIBERTAS

You are implementing the systems and tracking the metrics (like we teach in the book, Harris Rules). Now you need a brokerage partner that is built for maximum leverage and accountability. Stop letting outdated brokers skim your commission and slow your growth.

If you’re ready to make 2026 your breakthrough year—by finally getting the systems, coaching, and commission split you deserve—it’s time to partner directly with Tim and Julie Harris at EXP Realty.

This is your mandatory next step to becoming a Millionaire Real Estate Agent.

👉 Go now to https://WhyLibertas.com/Harris or text Tim directly at 512-758-0206.